Hardcore Wrestling
Hardcore wrestling (also known as Garbage Wrestling) is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple among some wrestling promotions, where they are used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling) specialized in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner. Hardcore wrestling became acknowledged as a major wrestling style first in Japan with promotions such as FMW and W*ING. It then became successful in America with Xtreme Championship Wrestling. The International Wrestling Federation capitalizing on the success and introduced the IWF Hardcore Championship. The IWF soon began to turn the matches into comedy skits, illustrating the ridiculousness they involved. Hardcore is in sound contrast to traditional mat-based wrestling, where solid technical skills are preferred over stuntwork, blood, and sheer shock value. The term garbage wrestling is attributed to Japanese wrestler Giant Baba who used it originally to describe a style of wrestling which required little wrestling athletic ability and often involved no wrestling at all, which is rather common in much of hardcore wrestling. Some in the United States consider it a derogatory term. Rules The main rule behind hardcore can have various connotations. Thus, hardcore wrestling is often separated into distinct "levels" based on the graphic nature of the match: *A 24/7 Title Match describes a situation where a hardcore wrestler must defend the title at all times. The match (and the title) can be won by pinfall at any time and in any place in the presence of a referee. The match has no fixed location, timeframe or even opponent. This is one of the most severe forms of hardcore match given its unpredictability. This was initially a self-imposed stipulation of Crash Murnion's IWE Hardcore Championship but afterward became a general rule of the title. During the time Crash defended his title, he did so in such locations as his hotel room, at the airport and even at the circus and Jesse James sr.{I.C.W Hardcore Championship} had to defend His Hardcore title in a hospital room while being there to get staples in his head after being hit with a stop sign in May 2006 . *A No Disqualification match tends to be less severe, with action taking place mostly inside the ring. Usage of foreign objects is typically minimal, with run-ins (another form of disqualification) being frequently used. The match is often contested between valets (where they may lack wrestling skills), or between a wrestler and a valet (in which a wrestler is expected to run-in and defend their valets). Because of the low-key nature, few consider a no-disqualification match as hardcore, although there is no semantic difference. *A Deathmatch tends to be the most severe, with a heavy emphasis on the usage of foreign objects to induce bleeding. The types of foreign objects and the nature of the foreign objects are used so as to be extremely graphic and violent in nature. In more recent years, some state athletic commissions in the US have cracked down on the types and frequency of weapons used in these matches. * A Hardcore match tends to be somewhere in between, with emphasis on the brutality of the attacks and the extreme physical toll on the wrestlers involved. * Combat Zone Wrestling's Cage of Death, which is held yearly, implements the use of multiple weapons attached to the cage walls. The usual weapons are there, as are unusual ones, such as weedwhackers. Because of the nature of hardcore wrestling, hardcore matches are often remembered for their dangerous spots (to the point that some deride it as "spotfests") rather than their actual outcome. The hardcore style has even extended to non-hardcore matches (that is, matches with disqualifications), especially into those where disqualifications are uncommon, where the rules allow or encourage the use of certain foreign objects, or where the rules of the match are ambiguous with regards to disqualification. It is not uncommon to have certain types of matches be no-disqualification affairs to avoid the issue of dealing with suspension of disbelief. Common weapons Hardcore matches tend to emphasize the use of certain weapons or the physical toll on the wrestlers, and thus many euphemisms for these matches are employed. (However, the almost kayfabe-breaking accessibility of some of these weapons—often under the ring—to wrestlers has led to the noun "plunder" in reference to them.) For example, Street Fights and Bunkhouse Brawls are hardcore-style matches which emphasize that wrestlers need not be in typical wrestling gear when they are battling, while the No Holds Barred match emphasizes the no-disqualification rule. In International Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme rules matches are hardcore-style matches that emphasized the spirit of its former competitor, Xtreme Championship Wrestling. Other euphemisms, such as the Good Housekeeping match and Full Metal Mayhem, emphasize the use of certain foreign objects as being legal (the former with kitchen implements, and the latter with metallic objects). In a Fans Bring the Weapons match, wrestlers fight with "weapons" that members of the audience bring to the venue. An Anus Explosion Deathmatch was an FMW special deathmatch where the loser or losing team were abused either by objects or fireworks. There are several weapons that are used commonly in deathmatch wrestling: *Fluorescent light tubes *Barbed wire *Fire *Thumbtacks *Staple gun *Broken glass *Steel folding chair *Table *Ladder *Mousetrap *Beds of spikes or nails or barbed wire *Barbed wire Baseball Bats *Barbed wire 2X4 *Barbed wire Steel folding chairs *Table Barbed wire *Thumbtack Bats *Trash Cans *C4 Explosives *Weed whacker *Napalm *Road/Street signs *Kendo sticks/Singapore canes *Space heater wrapped in barbed wire *Cacti *Tank of Scorpions *Tank of Piranhas *Tank of Hermit Crabs *Tank of Snakes (Non Poisonous) *Salt, Lemon Juice (to intensify pain on open wounds) *Razor wire *Electric tazers *Meat hooks *Lobsters *Lead Pipes *Razorblade Boards *Kenzans *Chains *Knives *Scissors *Chainsaws *Cars *Drills *Hammer/Sledgehammer *Cans *Screwdriver *Guitar *Sink *Handcuffs (to tie the opponent to ropes) *crutches *Crowbar *Barbed Wire Ropes *Barbed Wire Turnbuckles Hardcore wrestlers Many well-known deathmatch wrestlers are from Japan. In addition, most American wrestlers who participated in deathmatches made their mark in Japan. Men Japanese wrestlers American and international wrestlers Women Japanese wrestlers American and international wrestlers Hardcore championship In promotions where Hardcore wrestling is present, a Hardcore title may come into existence. This form of title is defended under hardcore rules, and title changes are frequent. Some hardcore titles may have their own unique rules. For example, the IWE Hardcore Championship was defended under 24/7 rules, meaning it could be defended and won at anytime, provided a referee was present to make the pinfall. The OVW Hardcore Championship had a trashcan passed from wrestler to wrestler rather than a belt. The GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship has a unique stipulation in that if the challenger survives 15 minutes, he wins the match and the title. Some Hardcore titles include: * IWE Hardcore Championship: 1998-2002, 2006 * WCW Hardcore Championship: 1999-2000 * BJW Death Match Championship (Japan): 1998–Present * BJW Eight Man Scramble Championship (Japan) : 1999 * BJW Big Authorization Death Match Championship (Japan) * BJW Barbed Wire Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Title (Japan) * JCW Juggalo Championship : 1999–Present * GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (Japan): 2004–Present * BWA Hardcore Championship: 2002–Present * RCW Hardcore Championship * IPW Hardcore Championship * PWU Hardcore Championship * FOW Hardcore Championship * CPW Hardcore Championship * TNW Hardcore Championship * TCW Hardcore Championship * WXw Hardcore Championship * WZW Hardcore Championship * NCW Hardcore Championship * CWA Hardcore Championship * NWL Hardcore Championship: 2000- * IHW Hardcore Championship: 1999–Present * ECCW/NWA Pacific Northwest Hardcore Championship 1999–present * FMW Brass Knuckles Title (Japan): 1990-1999 * FMW Independent Championship (Japan): 1996-1999 * IWA Hardcore Championship (Puerto Rico): 2000–Present * CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship 2005–Present * CZW/NWA Intrapromotional Hardcore Championship: 1999 * XPW World Heavyweight Championship: 1999-2002 * WEW Hardcore Championship (Japan): 1999-2001 * WWC Hardcore Championship (Puerto Rico): 1999-2001 * NWA Texas Hardcore Championship: 1999-2001 * CWA Hardcore Championship * OVW Hardcore Championship: 2000-2001 * WWA Hardcore Championship: 2001-2002 * WPW Hardcore Championship: 1999–Present * Saitama Pro Wrestling Company Monster Attack Champion (Japan) * Lucha Libre Feminil (LLF) Extreme Championship * BWF Hardcore Championship * UCW Hardcore Championship http://www.juggalowrestling.com/page.php Hardcore wrestling promotions *Big Japan Pro Wrestling *Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) *NWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) *Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW) — now defunct, though it was revived as a brand for International Wrestling Entertainment until being discontinued in 2010. *Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW) — now defunct *International Wrestling Syndicate *Insane Hardcore Wrestling (IHW) *IWA Mid-South *Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) *Psychotic Wrestling Alliance UK *Saitama Pro Wrestling Company (SPWC) (Japan) *International Wrestling Association of Japan — now defunct *Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW) — now defunct *UWA/PWA Hardcore Wrestling *W*ING — now defunct *Women's Extreme Wrestling (WEW) *Xtreme Latin American Wrestling (XLAW) (Mexico) *Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) — now defunct *Xtreme Wrestling Federation (XWF) — now defunct *Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) now defunct Criticism See also * "Falls Count Anywhere" match